The Anti-Helmet

Have we been so conditioned to wear traditional helmets when riding, that we’ve stopped considering alternatives? I know this will be controversial, but after watching a documentary about Sweden, I was introduced to the newest revolution in urban bike “helmets”, the Hövding, and I love it.

The Hövding is a crash collar that inflates in .1 seconds when it senses a potential collision. It not only covers your head, it also supports and protects your neck, which traditional helmets don’t do. A study by Stanford University says the helmet is eight times safer than a traditional bike helmet, which sounds wonderful. There were, of course, caveats. For example, if the airbag doesn’t fully inflate, it will cause the bag to “bottom out”, protecting the head from impact less than a foam helmet. I still believe it’s a step in an interesting direction.

This hasn’t been tested or approved for horseback riding, but I really feel it’s worth looking into. We’ve all fallen off our horses, and we all hate hat head 😏. I know some Western riders who won’t wear helmets (this is changing, thank goodness), but maybe this type of “airbag” system adapted for horseback riding, can be a viable alternative.